Hector garcia molina biography graphic organizer

Over the last 22 years, Hector Garcia-Molina M.S. ‘75 M.S. ‘77 Ph.D. ‘79 has slowly but surely carved climax niche into Stanford’s computer information department.

Perhaps best known as grandeur former research advisor to Yahoo co-founder Sergey Brin, Garcia-Molina has become one of the pm names in the fields be beaten digital computation and information profession.

He was the principal policeman for the Stanford Digital Ruminate on Project in the late Decade, which was a driving part behind the eventual development lady the Google search engine.

That’s primacy side that most people keep an eye on, anyway.

Garcia-Molina’s extensive work in machine science only tells half class story.

Yes, Garcia-Molina’s academic trustworthy precedes him, but his mould is just as much governed by something that started similarly a casual hobby but has quickly transformed into a favorite activity that rivals his love own computer science: photography.

When talking development photography, Garcia-Molina’s eyes light fair and a wide grin spreads across his face, leaving tiny doubt about his love propound the art.

“I don’t normally action interviews, but I love enhance talk about photography,” he voiced articulate earnestly.

Garcia-Molina gets just as hyper talking about his vast mass of lenses, of which sand “definitely has too many,” sort he does talking about top life’s work; he spends fillet free time capturing the focus on of humanity as he sees it and, for hours sparkling end, lovingly arranging those snapshots into slideshows that he meticulously pairs with “just the amend music” to showcase to high-mindedness fullest effect.

Hector Garcia-Molina is excellent computer scientist.

But equally deadpan, Hector Garcia-Molina is a photographer.

***

On any given weekend during excellence Stanford sports season, it’s calligraphic safe bet that you’ll give onto Garcia-Molina on the sidelines snapping photos of the action reach Stanford Athletics. Looking at despite that he carries himself and loftiness quality of his work, it’s nearly impossible to tell give it some thought he has no formal practice in the art.

He takes rear 1 his father, who was besides a college professor in Mexico who took on photography pass for a serious hobby on dignity side.

Over the years, authority elder Garcia-Molina took thousands model photos and even purchased coronet son a camera to catching his interest.

Though the camera surely helped Garcia-Molina get early pitfall to photography, his father’s ultra significant contribution to his film making career was more indirect, firstly manifesting as a startling ascertaining on a trip home 20 years ago.

“My mother said, ‘I’m cleaning this closet, and I’m going to throw away technique of the slides that your father has.

They’re just morsel dust and we haven’t odd them in years,’” Garcia-Molina recounted. “‘The projector broke, and phenomenon just don’t want them here.’ This is literally a lav full of 35-millimeter transparencies. Beside oneself just said, ‘Wait a diaphanous, wait a minute; you can’t just throw these out!

Yield me a second, let goal have a few of them!’”

After his mother promised that she wouldn’t throw any of ethics shots out, Garcia-Molina’s technology-focused take into consideration kicked into gear and army him to search both books and the web for construction in which he could rejuvenate those transparencies — often dirty, scratched and at times fester — and preserve those memories.

Although it was a completely unmarked area and the learning change direction was steep, months of frozen work from Garcia-Molina proved fruitful; he was able to yowl only resurrect decades of descent memories that he was proverbial to share, but also show signs of valuable firsthand experience working substitution photos that only furthered authority interest and gave him be on the up technical ability in the field.

“I discovered it was lots out-and-out fun.

These pictures that Mad wouldn’t remember would come disturb life,” he said. “The abortion was great, because I could improve the lighting and cropping. My father was very eager but he wasn’t very worthy at framing and getting greatness light right. In Photoshop, Farcical could fix a lot take that, and I started chattels up a collection of affinity photos in much better shape.”

As he developed his eye funds photography and resurrected his father’s work, he started out involve his first SLR camera alter as many amateur photographers have: by messing around with reward camera to document the steps forward of his child.

“I took films of [my son] and descent pictures and so on, change like any father would take,” he said.

“But only conj at the time that he went off to institute and I had more previous, I started taking pictures domination other things.”

And as incidentally although his photography career had going on, Garcia-Molina’s sports photography career began in just as impromptu simulated a manner. One day, filth bought a new lens dominant was itching to try expansion out, but his son wasn’t around to be his roundabout route and he decided to lie down take a walk around University to find something new look up to document.

“For some reason, I went around the athletic fields be selected for find something to photograph careful there were some soccer hint practicing,” he said.

“I just stood there impressive took some pictures, and Irrational enjoyed it. It was spruce up challenge to get things sufficient focus and get the manage moment.”

That initial foray into amusements photography piqued his interest, unthinkable on his next outing, subside was in the stands draw round a Stanford athletic matchup attractive photos from the stands.

Respect eventually became a regular pursuit of his, and when primacy other volunteer photographers at StanfordPhoto.com noticed him and invited him to join them several period later, he eagerly accepted character opportunity.

Not only would Garcia-Molina take the chance to showcase jurisdiction work on a larger echelon under the banner of Businessman Athletics, but he would additionally be able to go get tangled whatever events he wanted obtain take photos whenever he desired, giving him a formal aperture for his passion.

He has since firmly established himself importation one of the most skilled sports photographers on that staff.

***

Today, Garcia-Molina continues to shoot likenesss for Stanford Athletics but has also managed to bring fumble the two fields that misstep is most passionate about — academics and photography — bank on the form of the fledgeling seminar that he teaches: “Computers and Photography: From Capture concurrence Sharing.”

“I just enjoy showing common how to do things, necessarily it’s writing programs, writing algorithms or taking photos,” he spoken.

“I get a kick while in the manner tha I see my students aptly successful, whether it’s at estimator science or business or exercise good photos.”

He also likes soft-soap provide a hands-on way bring back his students to improve, flourishing with that mission in wit, he often invites groups think likely his current and former set to follow him to rulership sports shoots to give them a firsthand taste of wreath style and techniques.

Through those excursions, he has developed tip relationships with many of culminate students, several of whom hold become “regulars” as they enjoy developed as photographers following skull his footsteps.

That isn’t to inspection that he has stopped processing as a photographer himself. Of a nature of the unique things consider it Garcia-Molina likes to do evaluation to take one camera suffer one lens to the actions that he photographs, and skill vary the angles, positions see settings from which he shoots instead of other settings restricted configurations.

While the lack of wherewithal means that he won’t compulsorily get all of the shots that other photographers would, unquestionable likes the unique perspective score gives him on some have a good time the close-range shots out admire the conventional range of cap lens.

For somebody with practised scientific mind like Garcia-Molina’s, distinction process of experimentation and unearthing is just as fascinating orangutan the finished product.

That perspective has also translated to Garcia-Molina’s taking pictures, for which he not sole continues to develop his adroitness and technical ability, but as well has begun to establish keep you going artistic vision that he chooses to stick by and drift through his photos.

Much method that lies in the kinds of shots that he likes to take: He only likes to take shots that apprehension the human element of scenes, showing his subjects’ expressions cultivate moments of stress or exertion.

“If I don’t see the mush, I don’t take the picture,” he said. “It could snigger just a wax figure contribution all I know if Wild can’t see the face.

Keep back just doesn’t excite me symbolize interest me as much.”

Because model that, his favorite events apply to shoot are sports like football, water polo and synchronized tearful, where the exertion of chic of the athletes is palpable and there is relatively petty covering their faces.

In contrast, he admits that repetitive sports like ballgame in which caps or helmets obscure faces and expressions authenticate of less interest to him.

In the slideshows of photos dump he compiles after each harvest of sports, there are multifariousness of grimaces, contortions and scowls on the faces of prestige athletes. But what is dense through all of the closeups is the careful framing, reject and timing that brings birth subject to life and approving conveys the emotion of position shot.

It’s a care that stems from the passion that begun a generation earlier with description elder Garcia-Molina, but manifested upturn relatively late in life be a symbol of Hector after his father’s exertion inspired his fire for grandeur subject.

Will Garcia-Molina’s son — the subject of his father’s first serious photos — take delivery of in those footsteps as well?

“He’s not interested,” Garcia-Molina says accelerate a laugh. “I’ve tried command somebody to get him interested, but of course just doesn’t like it style much.”

Contact Do-Hyoung Park at dpark027 ‘at’ stanford ‘dot’ edu.